Trying to pick the exact bottom of Perth's property market is a gamble, and a buyer's agent quoted this week says waiting for it risks missing out altogether. My view from the Osborne Park desk is simpler. Buy when your finances are ready, not when a chart says so, because approved and ready beats clever and late.
What's happening: the "don't wait for the bottom" argument
A piece in Mortgage Professional America quotes a Perth buyer's agent making a blunt point. Buyers who sit on the sidelines hoping prices soften further often end up paying more later, or missing the home they wanted. The argument is that timing the market is a losing game for most people.
I hear a version of this conversation most weeks. Someone has been pre-approved, found a place in Dianella or Willetton, and then a mate at a barbecue tells them prices are about to fall. So they wait. Six months later the pre-approval has expired, the house has sold, and nothing in their life has actually improved.
Now, I am not a buyer's agent and I am not here to tell you where prices go next. Nobody at Central Lending Solutions has a crystal ball, and anyone who claims one should be treated with suspicion. What I can tell you is what the market data looks like, and the best place to check that yourself is REIWA, which publishes Perth suburb and metro figures regularly.
The honest summary of the article is this. A professional who buys Perth homes for a living thinks the cost of waiting outweighs the cost of buying a little early. Whether that holds for you depends on your deposit, your income, your job security and how long you plan to hold. That is a finance question before it is a market question.
What it means for Perth borrowers
The biggest risk in waiting is not the price. It is that your borrowing position changes underneath you. Lenders reassess living expenses, rates move, your car lease shows up on a statement, or your partner changes jobs. A pre-approval from NAB or Bankwest that was comfortable in March can look very different by spring.
The second risk is competition. When plenty of people are all waiting for the same signal, they all come back into the market at the same time. That is when you see a modest three-bedder in Morley or Beckenham pull a dozen offers in a weekend. Being ready before the crowd returns is a genuine advantage.
The third thing to understand is that interest rates and prices do not move in lockstep. The Reserve Bank sets the cash rate, and you can see the current setting and recent decisions at rba.gov.au. A rate cut can push prices up as buyers can borrow more, which is the opposite of what many sideline buyers are hoping for.
So what should a Perth borrower actually do with this? Here is the practical version I give clients across the table:
- Get your financial position sorted first. Deposit, savings history, debts cleared or consolidated, and a realistic budget.
- Know your true maximum borrowing across several lenders, not just one bank's online calculator.
- Decide on a price ceiling you can live with if rates rise, then shop under it rather than at it.
- Have a current pre-approval ready, so you can act in a week rather than a month when the right place turns up.
- Think in years, not months. Most owner-occupiers hold for well beyond a single market cycle.
None of that requires you to guess the bottom. It requires you to be the buyer who can sign a contract on Saturday afternoon with confidence. In my experience that buyer usually ends up ahead of the one who read every forecast and acted on none of them.
Worked example: Priya and Marcus, first home buyers in Bayswater
Let me put some numbers on a typical scenario. Priya is a registered nurse at Fiona Stanley, Marcus is a diesel fitter doing FIFO swings. Combined they earn somewhere in the $180-210k range before tax. They have saved around $90-110k, rent in Maylands, and want a three-bedroom home in Bayswater or Bassendean.
They came to us in autumn with a modest car loan and a couple of credit cards. Across the panel of 30+ lenders, their borrowing capacity sat in a band roughly $150k wide depending on how each bank treated Marcus's site allowances and Priya's shift penalties. One lender ignored most of the overtime. Another counted the bulk of it. That difference alone shifted their realistic price range by a suburb.
Here is where waiting bites. Say they hold off six months hoping prices ease by a few percent. Every $50k of extra borrowing costs them roughly $280-320 a month over 30 years at rates in the mid to high fives, which is purely illustrative and not a quote, so check the latest figures at rba.gov.au. Meanwhile their rent runs another $12-15k out the door.
Rather than gamble, we did three things. Cleared the car loan from savings, which lifted capacity more than the lost deposit cost them. Lined them up with the lender that treated FIFO income most generously. Secured a pre-approval so they could offer on a Bassendean home that suited them, with a price ceiling built in to allow for a rate rise or two.
Whether that home is worth more or less in eighteen months, honestly, I don't know. What I do know is they are paying down their own loan instead of someone else's, their repayments are inside a buffer we tested, and they stopped refreshing property apps every night. That counts for something.
How a Central Lending Solutions broker helps
Central Lending Solutions has been at 129 Hasler Road, Osborne Park WA 6017 since 2015. Over that time we have settled $1.2B+ in loans and collected 311+ five-star Google reviews. We hold ACL 497 950 and are MFAA members, which means we are licensed and accountable for the advice we give.
The real value in a conversation like the one above is not a rate. It is knowing which of 30+ lenders will treat your income, your deposit and your circumstances most favourably. For WA first home buyers that panel includes Keystart, the WA government lender, whose low deposit options you can read about at keystart.com.au.
Harj Dhillon and I run the business, and our brokers Aoife Farrell, Keeley Rodgers, Jono and Jonny handle clients right across Perth, from Butler down to Baldivis and out to Midland. Between us we have seen most income types and most deposit situations, including the awkward ones banks do not love.
When you sit down with us, here is roughly what happens:
- A free chat about where you are now, where you want to be, and what is stopping you.
- A proper capacity check across multiple lenders, not a single online calculator.
- A plan to fix anything holding you back, whether that is debt, savings history or structure.
- A pre-approval with a lender that suits your profile, timed so it is live when you are shopping.
- Settlement support, then ongoing reviews so you are not sitting on a stale rate years later.
There is no app, no portal and no instant approval button. There is a phone number, an office in Osborne Park, and people who will tell you the truth about your borrowing position. In a market where plenty of voices are telling you to wait or to rush, that is a useful thing to have.
Frequently asked questions
Should I wait for Perth prices to fall before buying?
Only if your finances need the time anyway. If you are still saving a deposit or paying down debt, waiting has a purpose. If you are approved and ready, the buyer's agent quoted by Mortgage Professional America makes a fair case that waiting for a bottom often costs more than it saves.
How long does a pre-approval last in Perth?
Most lenders give you around three months, sometimes up to six, and the exact term varies by bank. If your pre-approval lapses while you are waiting for a market signal, it has to be reassessed under whatever rules and rates apply then. That is one of the quiet costs of sitting on the sidelines too long.
Can I buy with a small deposit in WA?
Yes, there are paths. Keystart, the WA government lender, offers low deposit loans without lenders mortgage insurance for eligible buyers, and some mainstream lenders will go to 5-10% with LMI or a family guarantee. Eligibility rules and property price caps change, so check keystart.com.au or ask us for the current position.
What if rates rise after I buy?
We stress test every loan we arrange against a buffer above the actual rate, as lenders are required to do, so a rise or two should sit inside what you were approved for. We also build a personal buffer into the price ceiling we recommend, which is why we often suggest shopping under your maximum rather than at it.
Does FIFO or shift income hurt my borrowing power?
It can, depending on the lender. Some banks shade overtime, allowances and penalties heavily, while others count most of it if there is a consistent history. In the Bayswater example above, lender choice alone moved capacity by a meaningful amount. This is exactly where comparing 30+ lenders earns its keep.
What does Central Lending Solutions charge?
For standard residential home loans we are paid by the lender on settlement, so the initial conversation and the comparison work cost you nothing. We will always disclose any commission and any situation where a fee could apply before you commit to anything. Ask us directly and we will walk you through it.
Ready to stop guessing and start planning?
You do not need to call the bottom of the Perth market. You need to know exactly what you can borrow, with which lender, and at what repayment you can comfortably live with for the next decade. That is a conversation, not a forecast, and it is one we have every day at Hasler Road.
Call Dave or the team on 0489 082 257, or book a free chat at centrallendingsolutions.com.au/contact. Bring your payslips, your questions and your doubts. We will give you a straight answer on where you stand and what to do next, whether that is buying this month or getting ready for next year.